Women are
sometimes portrayed as victims in this novel, such as Mrs. Parsons, 's mother, and Winston's
little sister. Mrs. Parsons is trapped by the miserable conditions the totalitarian state puts
her in and fearful of her children, who spy on her. Winston's mother is forced to deal with an
impossible economic situation until she finally disappears.
In more general
terms, we see women as conditioned to being sexless if Party members and fulfilling traditional
gender roles in the prole society, such as the prostitute or the old washerwoman who hangs
laundry (she may be a spy, but we never know for sure) in the courtyard below the window of the
room above Mr. Carrington's shop.
The one woman we get to know,, shows a
great deal of agency in managing her life, and to some extent, breaks out of typical gender
roles. She, for example, initiates the relationship with Winston. In other ways, however, she is
a stereotypical woman, following Winston's lead and more associated with...
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